1. Field
Various embodiments of the invention relate to an imaging apparatus and a camera including the imaging apparatus.
2. Related Art
In an imaging apparatus, a luminous flux of light passing through a lens is received by an imaging element (e.g., a charge coupled device (CCD) image sensor), and image data is generated by processing a photoelectric conversion output of the imaging element. As a pixel pitch of an imaging element decreases, the quality of an image provided by the imaging apparatus is remarkably improved. Accordingly, when dust adheres to a surface of the imaging element or a surface of a transparent member disposed in front of the imaging element, shadows due to the dust are generated on a generated image, which becomes a problem.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 2012-134818 (Document 1) discloses a vibration apparatus including a bottom surface portion having a plate shape through which light incident on a CCD passes, an anti-vibration filter having a wall surface portion extending and protruding from one side of the bottom surface portion, where the anti-vibration filter is inclined at a predetermined angle and does not contact the bottom surface portion, and a piezoelectric device fixed on the wall surface portion of the anti-vibration filter.
Also, the imaging apparatus includes a technology to increase a resolution of an image or obtain a low pass filter effect by minutely displacing the imaging element parallel to a light receiving surface. To increase the resolution of an image, an image captured by displacing the position of the imaging element parallel to the light receiving surface to be smaller than a pitch of a pixel (e.g., about ½ of a pixel pitch), and an image captured at the original position prior to the displacement of the imaging element are synthetically processed. Also, to obtain a low pass filter effect, the imaging element is minutely displaced to be parallel to an imaging surface by using a predetermined frequency.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 2008-148178 (Document 2) discloses an imaging apparatus including an imaging element that receives a luminous flux of light from an object and performs photoelectric conversion, an actuator that minutely displaces the imaging element, and an expansion mechanism that expands a displacement of the actuator, transfers the expanded displacement to the imaging element, and minutely displaces the imaging element in a direction along the light receiving surface.
The technology of Document 1 is to vibrate an anti-vibration glass in the form of waves with respect to a surface of the anti-vibration glass. However, according to the technology of Document 1, a mechanism to displace the imaging element is provided separately because there is no means to displace the position of the imaging element.
In the technology of Document 2, the expansion mechanism minutely displaces the imaging element with respect to the light receiving surface. Also, dust adhering to a protection glass arranged in front of the imaging element is shaken off by repeating the minute displacement of the actuator. However, since the protection glass vibrates in a direction parallel to a surface of the protection glass in this technology, the vibration due to the expansion and contraction of the actuator has little effect in shaking the dust off.